Man Up Outdoors with Kerry Mackey

The past several months have been full of emotion, wonder, excitement, stress, amazement and pure joy. If you would have told me as a child that one day I would be entertaining the launch of an outdoor television series (Man Up Outdoors with Kerry Mackey), I wouldn’t have believed you. Having been raised in a rural community in North East Texas hunting, fishing, and shooting from a young age, being an outdoorsmen has been a part of my core. Then having the privilege of following that up with a degree in Forestry with and emphasis on Forest Recreation from SFA and just enough Wildlife Biology to be dangerous has continued to fuel my passion for the outdoors.

With the past 16 years of my life being a pastor, learning and growing as a man, husband, and father I’ve begun in the past 10 years to ask, what will be of my 40’s and beyond. A little less than two years ago I wrote a letter to 10 different men who have spoken into my life for some 15+ years asking them what should I expect in my 40’s, what are their words of wisdom, what might they speak into my life as I move forward. There was a consistent theme… “the time is now”.

I asked, “the time is now” for what? Little did I know at the time I wrote the letter in the fall of 2010 that Stephanie and I would be relocating back to North East Texas this fall to be near family and available to provide care for my mom as needed. As I continued to ask questions of the men there were insights of, “I see in you a passion for the hearts of men”, “going after real manhood”, “your experiences of being raised with the absence of a father figure in your life”, “your passion for your own family”, “how you love your wife and invest in your boys a deep seated love of God and masculinity”, “stay focused on family as your highest priority”, “be a listener of the needs of men”, “lean into greater risks for eternal investments”, etc…

I began to reflect on a time in 2001/2002 when I first read, “Wild at Heart“, and then 2005 as I read the “Top Gun” curriculum now No Regrets, and again with “Raising a Modern Day Knight“. Each time I read one of those books I found my heart full. I became passionate about carrying that message. It wasn’t until 2008 while serving at a church in Florida that I began to put the hammer down on going hard after the hearts of men, equipping men of honor for leadership, speaking into the lives of men as husbands, fathers, and spiritual leaders while blending my heart for God and my passion for the outdoors.

And then I began asking the question, God as we relocate, what would you have me do in this next chapter of my life? As we move back to East Texas how would you have me lead, how will I support my family and the call on my life to invest in men? He has begun to speak… He isn’t finished speaking by any means, but we do hear Him leading us through our experiences to what could be.

That leads us up to the past several weeks where the door has opened for us to pursue something I could never imagined in a thousand years… the privilege of carrying the message of, “reclaiming the masculine hearts of men” through outdoor television while producing the highest quality hunting, fishing, and shooting show on the air. Now, that doesn’t mean everything is a “done deal” yet, but as long as God is opening the doors, we will continue to walk through them. We are blessed to have an amazing group of men speaking into our lives as a Board of Advisors. Without these men walking with us, this would not be possible. I am indebted to their tireless investment in my life as a man, husband, father, and spiritual leader while pursuing this new venture.

We covet your prayers and support as we take our next steps. Please stay tuned on our Facebook Fan Page for the latest updates and next steps in the process. As be begin this movement please “LIKE” and “SHARE” our fan page with your sphere of influence as well as engage the process with us of carrying this message of biblical masculinity around the world.